Common Electrical Issues for Older Homes in Minneapolis

Electrical Upgrades for Safety & Efficiency

Here in Minneapolis, the majority of homes were built before the 1990s, with over 80,000 homes even being built in 1939 or earlier. This means it’s highly likely that your property has outdated electrical equipment. Dated electrical systems can present unique challenges for homeowners, and it’s important to be able to identify these issues so that you can enhance the safety and functionality of your home.

In this blog post, the expert electricians at Dean’s Home Services share some of the most common electrical issues that older homes experience and what you can do to resolve them.

Outdated Wiring

One of the main issues that older homes encounter is outdated wiring. Whether you have knob and tube wiring, aluminum wiring, wiring splices, or your wiring is simply reaching the end of its lifespan, leaving this problem untreated can have serious consequences for your electrical safety and functionality. Keep an eye out for the following signs that your home has outdated wiring:

• Burning odor coming from electrical devices
• Flickering or dimming lights
• Frequently tripped breakers
• Outlets and switches that are warm to the touch
• Tingling sensation when touching switches, outlets, or appliances

If you suspect that your home has outdated wiring, it’s important to have an electrician inspect your property. They will be able to determine whether you need rewiring services or if your wiring needs a simple repair to ensure it’s up to code.

Unresponsive Outlets

Another common occurrence in older homes is for outlets to become unresponsive over time. Dead outlets can be incredibly inconvenient, keeping you from ensuring adequate power to your appliances and devices. If you’re dealing with an unresponsive outlet, you’ll need to hire an electrician to come replace your outlets and potentially rewire your home.

Insufficient Power

When older homes were built, there weren’t as many electrical devices in the house as there are in modern-day society. For this reason, it’s common for older homes to have electrical panels that are not equipped to handle the increased power demand for all of your essential systems and devices. The only way to fix this problem is through an electrical panel upgrade. Our certified electricians can upgrade your panel to ensure it provides sufficient power for your family’s electrical demands.

If your electrical panel can’t meet your household’s power needs, call Dean’s at 763-515-4852 to schedule a panel upgrade.

Running Extension Cords

In many cases, older homes do not have enough electrical outlets to support the number of devices and appliances that modern-day homeowners have. This is why it’s common for families to rely on extension cords in older properties. However, this can pose a significant safety threat as these cords are prone to cuts, damage, and overloading. If you’re using several extension cords or power strips to support your power demands, you may need to have an electrician install additional outlets.

If your Minneapolis home doesn’t have enough outlets, call our team at 763-515-4852 for outlet installations.

Improper Grounding

Modern-day electrical systems need more power than in the past, and plugging these devices into your older home can result in frequently tripped breakers or blown fuses. This could be an indication that your home is improperly grounded. The best way to fix this problem is by having an electrician correctly ground your property or upgrading from a fuse box to a circuit breaker.

Upgrade Your Home’s Electrical System With Dean’s

If you’re living in an older home in the Twin Cities area and need an upgrade to your electrical system, Dean’s Home Services is here to help. With same-day service availability and the ability to service all brands, we are confident that our team can deliver the necessary upgrades your home needs to function safely.

Don’t rely on outdated electrical equipment in your home — call 763-515-4852 to schedule electrical upgrades in Minneapolis-St. Paul today!